Love HIIT? This challenging workout at Firestation 3.0 could be right up your alley

The most effective workouts are often the toughest — here's a perfect example if you ever need a challenge

Most of us choose HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) for a good number of reasons. One: It comprises of a slew of dynamic activities so you'll never feel bored. Two: It's usually over in less than an hour. Three: You are sure to burn a pretty decent amount of calories. Of course, with all those benefits, there's always a catch — having to put your body through the wire every second of the way.

We recently had a go at Firestation 3.0's Stride Total Body Workout, crafted by our instructor Shirley Tan — and it was by far, one of the most grueling ones we've ever had to go through. Be forewarned, everything will hurt during, and after. But hey, all for a good, bangin' bod, right?

4 MINUTE WARM-UPThe intensive workout started off with a light jog on the treadmill... until our coordination skills were put to the test — having had to throw a 5kg medicine ball up in the air while back-facing the control panel and walking backwards. You might think that sounds like a piece of cake, but the real difficulty came from conditioning ourselves to only walk backwards. If not, you'll be falling off within seconds.

3 ROUNDS OF 5 MINUTE TREADMILL SESSIONSIt takes a lot for one to say this but running was in fact, the easiest part of the entire session. We had to alternate between running at a speed that we felt comfortable with and doing treadmill push-ups. While doing treadmill push-ups, we kept both feet spread apart and off the 'running' track, arms stretched out to the bar and lifted our bodies up and down like how a usual floor push-up is done.

2 ROUNDS OF 5 MINUTE STRENGTH TRAININGCurrent state? Barely catching our breaths and already feeling the aches kick in. Before we knew it, it was playtime with suspension belts. Basically, squat jumps while keeping the tight posture of holding onto the belts. Swiftly and surely, we felt the strain in our arms, butt and glutes while hopping in a consistent motion. Was that it? Nope, far from it. We proceeded right into a vicious cycle of medicine ball slams, followed by good old burpees.

1 ROUND OF 5 MINUTE CORE TRAININGThe final leg of the session was the hardest. Why so? Well, because we were ripped to shreds in the last few rounds, and the last one wasn't about to get any easier. First up, we held planks while moving our legs in and out. Next, lying on our backs and cycling in the air. Lastly, a teeth-gritting attempt to pull through mountain-climbers, which meant holding a plank while alternate bending both our knees.

OUR FINAL VERDICTThe physical capacity to survive the entire session might be one that demands a disciplined 'Eat, Sleep, Train' mantra but it is undoubtedly, a fun HIIT for anyone who desires to challenge the limits of your regular workout regime.